paul w

Just getting involved with smokepoles and with so much to learn!!! Just how long does blackpowder, pyodex, 777 etc. last? How do you store it if bought in bulk? Does it have a shelf life??? Just wonderin???[:-]

Ruger-Redhawk

Black Powder I don' t know if it' s has a shelf life? I have some from back 20-25 years and it still works fine.Keep the can tightly closed and in a dry place , you won' t have any problems.Back then buying it through a muzzleloading club it was 3.00 a pound.It' s getting very pricey especially when you add the Hazmat fee.
I have no idea about Pyrodex pellets.I imagine if they are kept dry they will last for many years.I just started using Pyrodex(pellets) when I got my Knight Disc a few years back.
Ruger Redhawk

handloader1

I have a friend who had some left over Pyrodex Pellets from last year, and he is not getting the same velocities as last year. Good luck.

paul w

Have been told both ways, that it lasts for years and that it doesn' t. Want to order in bulk due to shipping cost but not sure how much I will burn. Hate to see it go bad in a year or two. Thanks for the info.[:-]

herman

I think black powder will last foreever if it is keep dry,but I think the subs will not.Bought the first can of cleanshot,it had been in the shop for a couple of years,couldn' t get it to shoot any groups in any rifle I used it in.decided to give it a try the next year got a new can and it shot very good in some rifles,but some it don' t shoot worth a crap in new or old.
Any more I get a new can of what I am going to use for hunting that year,I am at the bait shop 2or 3 times a week where I buy it so I can keep up with when he gets it in,but still you don' t know how long it has sit in the distriborters shelf,on the pyrodex and and t7 there is a white sticker on the bottom of the can with a date on it, have never found out who puts it there either the distrubtor or manufacture but would think it was the manufacture.but have never seen one on the cleanshot.
I read somewhere where the subs do have a shelf life but don' t remember where I read it or how long it said it lasts,I have 4 brothers that hunt and I shoot muzzleloaders during the year so it doesn' t take us long to use up a can.

RKenSprac

I agree with the above, I' ve had the real stuff last for years, just stored it cool and dry. The subs, I don' t know about. You might call/email and ask them.

WV Hunter

I only use pyrodex powder, and IMO, it will last a long time also if kept in a dry, cool place. I' ve got some that' s over 5 years old and is just as accurate as the new cans I have. I don' t know what the advertised shelf life is though.

paul w

Just some info I ran across while re-reading my T/C manual...
The National Fire Protection Association has a pamphlet on this subject so am requesting it to see what they have to say. Address and phone follow:
P.O. Box 9146
Quincy, Mass. 02269
#800-344-3555 ask for pamphlet #495 FYI opens at 8:30am

cayugad

I was told from the people at Pyrodex that if it is stored in a cool dry place, the shelf life like black powder, is indefinate. They did stress that it should be cool and dry. An old timer warned me that one of the other things to watch is how much you shake the Pyrodex or powder up. I have watched people check their horns or plastic bottles of Pyrodex by shaking it, and listening to how much is in the container. This fellow I met at a Rendevous warned that you break down the grain size, and that if you do that too much, it will change the charge. Other then that he always comment.. Keep your powder dry. I have some Pyrodex P that is six years old, and it shoots like new. I have some Cleanshot and Pyrodex Select that is four or more years old, and I have not noticed any change in the way it shoots.

jagertiger

Me and my friend both shot muzzleloaders and both bought our powder at the same time he bought black powder and I bought pyrodex that was about six years ago we just finished up both pounds this week and both shot well no difference that we could tell.
I remember asking the sales clerk about how long they last he told us to keep them cool and dry or the black powder can become unstable but the pyrodex will become more stable to the point that it won' t even ingnite. Don' t know how true it is but that' s what he said.